


ain't no other man

by Esbion



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Cedric Diggory Lives, F/M, Fluff, Happy Ending, Harry Potter Rare Pair Bingo: Round 2, Jealousy, Minister for Magic Hermione Granger
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-02
Updated: 2021-01-02
Packaged: 2021-03-12 04:41:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,562
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28504638
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Esbion/pseuds/Esbion
Summary: Hermione knew she should have done the seating plan for Harry and Draco’s wedding. She would never have let it turn out like this, with not one, not two, but three of Hermione’s exes seated at the same round table.For HP rarepair bingo
Relationships: Cedric Diggory/Hermione Granger, background Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter, past Hermione/Percy, past Hermione/Ron, past Hermione/Viktor
Comments: 10
Kudos: 63
Collections: Harry Potter Rare Pair Bingo: Round Two!





	ain't no other man

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt M032: ain't no other man - christina aguilara
> 
> y'all I haven't written Het since 2011 but I made an exception for these two

Hermione knew she should have done the seating plan for Harry and Draco’s wedding. She would never have let it turn out like this, with not one, not two, but _three_ of Hermione’s exes seated at the same round table.  Viktor, Ron, and Percy were sitting around the table with their respective plus-ones Percy was with Oliver Wood, Ron was with Neville, and Viktor--the only single person there--had brought his brother. Everyone was enjoying their hors d'oeuvres while awkwardly trying to make small talk. 

“So,” Cedric said, “How’ve you been, Viktor?”

“Good,” Viktor said curtly. He was sitting on the other side of Hermione, glaring at Cedric. He had never liked Cedric much, he’d always held a resentment towards him for winning the Triwizard Tournament. It wasn’t Cedric’s fault that Viktor was under the Imperius curse in that hedge maze. But Viktor held it against him anyway.

The tension in the air was so thick you could cut it. 

Hermione would have done the seating plan if she could, but as the Minister of Magic she had a lot of responsibility on her plate as it was. She thought it might have been one of the Malfoys who came up with this particular seating arrangement; who else would want to torture them all this badly?

“And you, Percy?” Cedric gave a friendly-but-fake smile. “I heard your team is first in the league this season.”

“Oh, yes,” Percy puffed his chest. “Puddlemere United is doing very well, these days.”

Beside him, Percy’s boyfriend Oliver Wood nudged him. “It’s all thanks to you, Perce, you’re the best manager we’ve had yet.”

Percy beamed, Then he turned back to Cedric. “How about you, what are you doing now?” 

“I’m an Auror, at the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.”

“Still just an Auror, after twenty-five years?” Percy said bluntly. Hermione knew he wasn’t trying to be rude. It was just an observation. But it was an unnecessary statement. This was the kind of insensitive remark Hermione had gotten sick of in the year that she had been with him, and which led to their eventual breakup. (That, and the fact that he was gay.) 

“Well--” Cedric began. 

“And you would think that being close to the Minister of Magic would help you get a promotion.”

“Percy,” Hermione snapped. “I would _never_ show favoritism at work. In fact, half of my colleagues don’t even know Cedric and I are seeing each other.”

Cedric’s small smile disappeared. He looked down at his plate, poking his salad with a fork. Hermione did not understand this reaction; shouldn’t he be glad she was defending him?

“That’s strange,” Percy said. “When you and I were dating, everyone in the department knew.” 

“And that was a mistake! Work and personal life should be kept separate.”

“I don’t mind my coworkers knowing me and Neville are together,” Ron added. 

Hermione rolled her eyes. “First of all, you don’t work together. Second of all, it’s a joke shop, for heaven’s sake.”

“So?”

“So, no one cares. The teenagers who run your shop on weekends don’t care who you date.”

“You’d be surprised how much teenagers care about things like that.”

“You’re telling me? You were the one who once sulked for weeks because I snogged--” Hermione stopped short. It was Viktor she had snogged, but she wasn’t going to bring that up right in front of the man. 

“Snogged who?” Cedric asked.

“Nothing.”

“Well, it’s not as bad as the time you _set birds_ on me...“

Hermione and Ron launched into a discussion of the old days, back when they were teenagers caught in a sort-of romance, an emotional whirlwind that had been building up for seven years and that ultimately led to the two of them marrying and having children. They had twelve years together and even more years as friends; once they started talking about their past, it was hard to get them to stop. 

Hermione was aware of Cedric beside her, staring gloomily into his wine glass. She stopped talking and turned to him. “Are you okay?” she whispered.

Cedric looked up. “Um--yeah, I’m fine. Pass me the rolls please.” 

Hermione passed him the rolls. 

As they ate, they watched Draco’s parents, Lucius and Narcissa, making a speech about their son. Then it was Harry’s side’s turn and, not to be outdone by the Malfoys, every single one of the Weasleys was supposed to say something. But first came Hermione. She stood up and gave her prepared speech that she had memorized by heart, talking about how her friend had come to get together with his rival. 

Hermione was used to giving speeches, being the Minister of Magic and all.  While she spoke she noticed out of the corner of her eye the way Cedric was looking at her with a soft look in his gray. His proud gaze gave her a warm, fluttery feeling down inside. 

When she was finished, she sat down again. Cedric beamed at her, reached for her hand under the table and gave a squeeze.

They continued to watch the speeches, eating the expensive banquet food as they did so. 

“Hermione,” Viktor whispered beside her. “You are looking very pretty tonight.”

Hermione nodded. “Thank you.”

He leaned closer to her. “You look just as pretty as you looked during the Yule Ball,” Viktor said, and Hermione noted with pride how smoothly his English came out. “Do you remember that? How we danced together?” Viktor said in a low voice. He reached out and was about to place his hand over Hermione’s, but she pulled it away. “Do you remember, when we went out to the courtyard afterwards, just the two of us--”

There was a sound of a chair scraping against the marble floor as Cedric got up. “I’m-- I’m going to the bathroom.” Cedric said. His cheeks were oddly flushed, his eyebrows pulled together in a slight frown.

With that, he turned and walked away from the table.

Hermione frowned. “I wonder what’s wrong with him.” 

“Hermione,” said Ron from two seats down. “I think he might be...jealous.”

“Jealous?”

Hermione had never known Cedric to be a jealous person. That was one of the things she liked about him. Unlike Ron, Viktor, or Percy, he didn’t glare at other men who spoke to her. She supposed, even Cedric had his limits. But he kept his emotions inside so as not to make her worry about him. 

“Oh,” she said.

She had to fix this.

She watched the grooms dancing across the room, and remembered the ring she had been keeping for months kept in her expandable wallet-bag, waiting for the right time to pop the question. “I’m going to have to propose.”

Viktor frowned. “You’re a woman.”

“And?”

“You’re really going to tell the _Minister of Magic_ what to do, Viktor?” said Ron, immediately coming to her defense. 

Viktor opened his mouth then shut it again, folding his arms over his chest.

“Hermione,” said Percy. “You can’t propose on the same day as someone else’s wedding.”

She knew for a fact that Harry James Potter did not give a single fuck about wedding etiquette, and anyway, she wasn't going to do it publicly. 

“Watch me.”

***

Cedric meandered through the courtyard, thinking to himself. 

He knew Hermione had had several lovers before. Of course she did; she was bold, smart and beautiful. It was one thing to know about Hermione's suitors, it was another thing to sit there while Viktor Krum hit on her and she nodded politely. Hermione had never given him a reason to doubt her loyalty. But he still felt something, a seed of jealousy deep inside him. He resented the fact that Viktor had noticed her when they were in school, that Ron had spent many years with her before they reverted to being close friends, that Percy had an office romance with her when she was working in his department. 

Hermione was the most amazing woman he had ever met and he wished they hadn't spent over thirty years apart. 

With a sigh, Cedric took a seat in the gazebo, staring up at the star-studded sky. He was looking at the stars, mentally creating constellation patterns, when he heard a rustling behind him. 

He turned around. There she was in her silken blue dress robes embellished with tiny silver sparkles like stars and her normally-bushy hair flowing over her shoulders in perfect curls. 

"Hermione." He gave a smile, concealing his feelings. 

"I've been looking for you everywhere," she panted.

"I decided to get a breath of fresh air. Gets a bit stuffy inside, you know." 

"Yeah," Hermione walked over to him and took his hand in her own. "Cedric, I want you to know something." 

"What's that?" 

Hermione frowned in concentration. "I may have dated other men in the past, but none of them are comparable to you. You are handsome, smart, brave, and funny. You're the only man that makes me feel the way that you do." 

"I...I love you too, Hermione." 

"What I'm saying is, I want to be with you for the rest of my life."

Cedric felt a jolt of surprise. "You mean...?"

"Cedric Diggory," said Hermione, producing a small box out of nowhere. "Will you marry me?" 

Cedric felt his eyes pricking with tears of joy. "Yes. Yes, Hermione, I will." 


End file.
